Blue Shadows
by Team Graecisso
Summary: One-shot. The thoughts of Sonic and Shadow on their battle aboard the ARK.


Hey everyone! This is my first try at a Sonic one-shot, or a Sonic fic period, but the idea just came to me, and I had to do it. This is my favourite Sonic game so far, but have a feeling I`ll like Sonic Heroes better. Anyway, here we go…

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"You never cease to surprise me, blue hedgehog. I thought that capsule you were in exploded in space."

This brought me back, to my wrongful imprisonment. The irony of it was, both of thought we were the best. I was the legendary saviour of light, stopping the plans of Dr.Eggman over and over. I wondered, inside, if I should be offended at his underestimating of the one and only Sonic.

"What can I say, I die hard." What else could I say? I wasn`t going to give Shadow the satisfaction of knowing I had escaped by pure luck. Why did I care what he thought? The battle, yes, that was the only reason I cared.

~

"You know, there`s more to you then just looking like me. What are you, anyway?"

In reality, I probably knew what he was. But I was the ultimate life form, created for the purpose of revenge for Maria. Maria…

She was the perfect human being. She was always so kind, always there for me. Whenever I was exhausted from the Professor's intense training, she`d be the one to bandage my paw, clean a nasty cut, and give the one treatment that mattered most.

All of a sudden, I was released from imprisonment, and plunged into a dark struggle. However, I remembered Maria, what she would have wanted. Vengeance.

Strange, that simply didn`t make sense…

~

"What can I say, just a guy that loves adventure. I`m Sonic the Hedgehog!"

How true. I wasn`t some super being, as my own inflating ego was starting to lead me to believe. We were a team, that was the one thing that had let us to victory.

Metal Sonic, Eggman, Chaos, they`re weakness. They didn`t know the power of teamwork. Though I was normally the one to transform and go up against the opponent, the fate of the world spurring on supersonic speed. However, I wouldn`t be there if it wasn`t for my friends…

Tails. He always followed me, never trusting my judgment. I was a hero to the fox, an idol. He never knew that just like him, I doubted too. On the inside, I wasn`t cocky, knowing I would do well in anything. I knew I wasn`t perfect. Tails, I`ll try not to let you down. Hope you ploughed Eggman into the pavement…

Knuckles. He may be the most gullible creature in the existence of the universe, tricked by Eggman time and time again. However, we were breaking the barriers of rivalry, and we`re probably friends by now. I don`t blame the echidna for being paranoid, it`s in his job description. I`d never want to have to do that, live on an island for existence, then wake up one morning to find it burning…

Amy. The poor girl, sometimes, just sometimes, I just want to reach past the barrier around myself, comfort her with the one thing she wants most, but I`m not a fool, it`s too dangerous. It pains me, every time she chases me, the way I have to run away. If I don`t get out of here, Amy Rose, good luck…

"Your adventuring days are coming to an end!"

~

The two hedgehogs both ran down the bridge, eager to reach their destination first, knowing everything was riding on this opportunity. Sonic struck first, stopping to curl into a ball, then releasing, rolling over and over until he knocked Shadow over. Sonic jumped up and attempted a homing attack, but the quicker Shadow leapt up. The two energy balls collided, and both fell, and continued running. All that mattered now…

~

"You can`t keep this up, Sonic! You`re getting tired!

"So are you."

Four minutes into the fight, and my body was aching. I`d never had problems with endurance, I`d ran an hour solid before at top speed. We both knew, we were equals. We were both pushing ourselves to our limits. Covered with bruises, I saw a quick ring trail to my right, and ran across it at light speed, kicking Shadow at the same time. It took him a while to get up, and for a brief moment, I thought it was over. Gasping, my black counterpart pushed himself to his feet, and curled up into a ball as well, shooting passed me. I curled into a ball myself, and we both rushed onward, our destination in sight…

~

I was the ultimate life form! I would not fail!

I`ll admit it now, I have an equal. The blue hedgehog and I both rushed forward, only seeing the world out of the corner of our eyes, rushing by at supersonic speed. It was now or never.

I quickly pushed my black ball into the blue ball that was Sonic, then with a kick send us both out of our spindashes. I knocked into the Blue Blur, eyes narrowed. He gasped in pain as my spherical form slammed his chest, then I grabbed his foot and hurled him down the disappearing bridge, having no doubt he would never make it up in time. Gasping with fatigue, I slowly jogged up the bridge, ready to watch the Eclipse Cannon fire and wreak the vengeance Maria wanted on the planet below. She wanted it, I was sure.

Then I gave a horrified gasp of shock, as Sonic the Hedgehog sprinted past me. The fatigued eyes looked right into my terrified gaze, and the cocky blue hedgehog did the last thing I ever expected.

He laughed, the worst kind of laugh imaginable. It wasn`t the cruel laughter of a tyrant, or the friendly chuckle of a casual joke. It was the confident laugh of realization. He knew he was going to beat me. Ten seconds before the Eclipse Cannon was due to fire, my ultimate rival curled into a ball, and instead of shooting straight, he sent himself flying skyward. For one glorious moment, I thought he had missed, but then he curled even tighter and slammed earthward.

When his body hit mine, it was as if conscious thought was almost impossible. My entire existence was pain, as every injury from the fight multiplied tenfold. As I fell, I knew that I had really won, as the cannon would fire in three, two, one…

Nothing happened. The hedgehog simply stood there, then turned…

"Game over, Shadow."


End file.
